ASUS ROG Flow Z13 — An Unexpected Convertible That’ll Pack a Punch

Evan Blass (@evleaks), one of the most reliable leakers on the web, has just shared a photo of the ROG Flow Z13 from ASUS, a hybrid convertible akin to the Microsoft Surface Pro. And, well, we’re both puzzled and mighty excited at the same time!

There’s no true gaming convertible on the market right now and there’s a good reason why: these devices are simply too thin and light to house gaming-grade components. The best one for the “job” is probably the Surface Pro 8 from Microsoft — a tablet with Thunderbolt support (for those oh-so-expensive eGPUs) and a respectable integrated graphics card. But even such a potent iGPU cannot fully “spread its wings” because of the meager cooling solution that is packed within.

These devices were never designed for gaming, so the fact that they cannot chew through AAA titles (or even more demanding esports ones) should really come as no surprise.

By the looks of it, though, ASUS wants to upend the “status quo” with its ROG Flow Z13 and, needless to say, it has definitely piqued our interest!

ASUS ROG Flow Z13 | The Only of Its Kind

The sheer fact that it carries the Flow moniker means it’ll be geared towards gamers. What kind of sorcery ASUS will employ to make it more successful at this task than its forerunners still remains to be seen, though.

We don’t have any official information, but two things are all but guaranteed: it’ll feature an AMD-based APU (potentially an H-series model with a fairly potent Vega iGPU) and it’ll come with ASUS’ own proprietary port in case you want to connect it to the obscenely expensive XG Mobile (basically an eGPU with more bandwidth) and game to your heart’s content. This kind of set-up will set you back an arm and a leg, but for those with deep pockets and money to spare it might just be worth the asking price.

Thermals and noise levels are obviously a concern (as is so often the case with any gaming-focused laptop), but the sheer fact that ASUS went through the hassle of designing such a bespoke gaming convertible is somewhat reassuring — they knew what they were getting themselves into, so we assume these oh-so-important factors will be kept in check even under heavy workloads. Finally, a high refresh rate display (upwards of 120Hz) is all but guaranteed, but it still remains to be seen whether the ROG Flow Z13 will be able to drive any games (other than the most undemanding esports ones) at high enough frame rates to harness such a fast display.

Closing Remarks

We love the idea of a gaming convertible, but the fact that no company had ever managed to create one speaks volumes. And, well, it’s highly debatable whether it would provide any tangible benefits over a more traditional gaming laptop.

Be that as it may, we always love to see companies innovate and push the boundaries, no matter where it may lead. And this particular convertible definitely ticks all the right boxes. In any case, we’re bound to get a more thorough reveal in just a couple of weeks, so stay tuned!